


lazarus boy

by lesbianiconjasontodd



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days
Genre: Bonding Moments, Gen, Jason after the pit, Jason is alive and living and that's really all I'm here for, Talia absolutely is a good mom, Talia wants to be a good mom, mentions of Bruce, mentions of Damian, mentions of Ra's and the League
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 20:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14316108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianiconjasontodd/pseuds/lesbianiconjasontodd
Summary: Talia already has a son. She didn't expect to find another.





	lazarus boy

**Author's Note:**

> The ending of Red Hood: Lost Days was really...not what anybody wanted...so I made a better one. :) I don't know Arabic at all, but I'm told 'eini' means 'my heart' and is a term of endearment for family and loved ones. Thanks for reading!

“I came to say goodbye,” he said from the door.

Talia stiffened, the fingers combing through her hair freezing. The boy had gotten better since his arrival; it used to be no one could sneak up on her. Even now, his movement were silent, controlled. More like a predator, more like an assassin. More like her, maybe, now that he was free of his father’s influence. But perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

“Jason,” she said, turning to face him. Her lips softened into a quiet smile. “I didn’t hear you come in. Your training must be progressing well.”

He didn’t return her smile and pointedly kept his gaze on the hills outside her window. There it was, that pensive stare. He could deny his father all he liked, but no one else in the world could brood like that. “Did you hear what I said? I’m leaving.”

“I heard you. You’re not leaving. There is still much you should learn--”

“I’m tired of practicing, Talia,” he growled. “It’s time.”

Now, he looked at her, eyes sharp and angry and green as the pit she raised him from. It was unnerving, being fixed in his stare. The color was a side effect of his return he shared with her own father. Sometimes, if he was calm, the green would ebb a little, and she could just pick out the sky blue he was born with. Those resting moments were few these days. Pairing that with the white streak through his hair and brow and the months of devastating training, Jason Todd looked every bit the terror he claimed to loathe.

His fists were clenched by his sides, and his jaw looked carved from glass. Every inch of him was tensed a ready for battle. In a rare beat of uncertainty, Talia wondered if she should have done more to stop him. What if this was a mistake?

She touched his cheek, willing herself to keep his attention focused. “ _Eini_ ,” she murmured, “you do not have to face him alone. If you wish for war, I will fight with you.”

Talia had a son, a strong and brave boy with a great destiny to fulfill. Damian was everything the League had hoped for, all her father required and more, the very desire of her soul. She couldn’t have asked for a better heir. But this boy before her, this young man--Bruce had claimed him as his, but what if she could do the same? Jason would never command armies, never take a place beside the Demon’s Head, never be any more than he was now, but he could be her son. It wouldn’t be enough for the others, but she somehow knew it would be enough for her.

“Stay,” she said at last. “You could be happy here.”

Jason didn’t speak at first. His eyes flashed between hers, trying to decide if the request was sincere or a trick. She watched the green fade into blue, then inch back again. The whole world seemed to hold its breath for his answer.

His hand came up to touch hers. “I wish I had found you instead of Sheila Haywood,” he confessed. Slowly, he pulled away from her, green strangling blue. “I have to do this. I have to do it alone. He needs to know this is me.”

As expected. As she should have known. Asking him to stay was a mistake.

“Use my jet. You may take it wherever you wish. I will inform my father once you are out of reach.” Talia turned and strode her wardrobe while she spoke, searching her belongings for the gift. Perhaps the occasion did not warrant a present, but she could not let him leave without a piece of her by his side. “Alert me when you have reached Gotham. I will continue to send what I can through the same accounts, as well as any information you may find useful. Be careful, Jason. He does not yet know who you are, so he will not hold back,” she warned. “You are a threat to him now; he will treat you as such.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.” He frowned when she handed him the box. “What’s this?”

“A blessing,” she said, “or a curse. For you, _eini_ , I hope for the blessing.”

Jason slid off the lid, eyebrows raised at her strange explanation. His expression did not change when he pulled out the dagger. “It’s beautiful,” he murmured. “But, Talia--”

“I know, you prefer bullets to knives, but this one is special.” She ran a gentle finger over the engraved hilt, the intricate designs in the steel blade. “This is a keris, a sacred weapon in many cultures. Some believe it gives the bearer strength, bravery. Others believe each blade hosts a spirit that can help or harm depending on the wielder’s heart. You have a good heart, Jason. Wield both well.”

He nodded solemnly and slid the dagger back into its sheath. “Thank you. I--I’ll do my best.” A long moment passed,, and he added “I know what I’m doing, it isn’t something to be proud of. But I do--I want you to be proud of me. Of wherever this path takes me.”

Talia felt her lips lift in another smile. When was the last time she felt so happy? And why, now that he was truly leaving her?

“I may not be your mother, but you are forever my son. Wherever this path takes you, it does not matter. I am already proud.”

The scent of jasmine drifted through the air on a lazy warm breeze. Jason let himself relax and breathe it in, perhaps for the last time. Then he shouldered his bag, slipped the keris into his belt, and walked away.

He would be alright. Somehow, all this pain would make him whole.

Talia sighed, and let him go.


End file.
